A long time ago (about 2 months ago), in a galaxy far, far away (my one-shot series), I told you all I'd try to get season 5 started in January. Seeing as it's now February, I didn't succeed. Sorry it took longer than I had hoped. But we're back! My first post of 2022. The kickoff to season 5 is here, my hiatus is over. You all know what this means.

Disclaimer: I don't own The Flash.

The day Ace got his powers, he can honestly say was the best of his life.

Ace almost thought it would never happen. He was already a young adult without a hint of any discernible powers.

All his other siblings had powers. The eldest, Ramona, a carbon copy of their mother, even down to her cryokinetic abilities. Ramona was always the best, able to achieve everything without putting forth any effort. The apple of their parents' eyes, though they never admitted it. Uncle Cisco's favorite as well, but he might be a little biased since he was her godfather and named after him. It never felt fair that Ramona was the firstborn, with all the others always being subconsciously compared to her, especially when she cast such a large shadow. Powerful, beautiful, smart, and set to take over a multi-billion dollar company when their parents retired. At least Mom and Dad never picked favorites, because if they did, he was sure they would have just stopped at Ramona.

His younger twin siblings, Don and Dawn, opposites of each other, but thick as thieves. If one didn't know better, you wouldn't be able to tell they were fraternal twins. Each with a variation of the power from their parents. Don with his hydrokinesis and Dawn with her electrokinesis. People always said they reminded everyone of Mom and Dad back when they first met, always getting up in the other's business and arguing over the littlest things. But when it came down to it, they would stick together no matter what.

Ace would never have believed his parents ever argued as much as Don and Dawn. They were little kids and at the age where they believed everything revolved around them, but then he would remember a screaming match about the dishes between his parents that would end with a frantic kiss and both of them rushing to bed and nine months later the twins were born. It seemed fitting that was how his little siblings came about.

And then there was him, the middle child. Nothing to say for now, but Ace was adamant that he would eventually get powers as well. How could he not? His parents were The Flash and Killer Frost. Both of his parents were metahumans who passed their mutated genes to him. There had to be something.

Even his best friend and honorary cousin, Gloria Ramon, developed powers as well, despite only one of her parents being a metahuman. Future sight. She could glimpse into the future. It took some time, well into middle school, and the family honestly thought she'd take after her mother, but then she was gifted with a vision of the future.

After that, they were forced to take her out of school and begin homeschooling like with all the other super kids. Lest they risk having their kids as targets or being revealed to the public of exactly whose children they were.

Gloria was so proud of herself. She dubbed herself The Prophet. Uncle Cisco couldn't have been prouder that day. They discussed her first vision at length and just what she saw.

It was about him. Wrapped in lightning, moving at incredible speeds.

He knew it. He would be a speedster just like his father, just like his godfather and namesake. It was only a matter of when.

When it was revealed about his future abilities, the adults sat Ace down to have a serious discussion. About responsibility and all that, to not abuse his powers. The dangers of being a speedster and what came with it. Dad, Uncle Wally, and Aunt Jesse had a long lecture about a particular power he would have. How one day, he'd be fast enough to travel through time, and he should avoid that as much as possible. There were things that should never be changed.

But they admitted that like all things, there were exceptions. Time loops being the main example. Things that had to happen and would only happen because time travel was involved, and therefore could not be avoided.

That was his fate.

They created a plan. Uncle Cisco even made him a suit already. As soon as Ace's powers would kick in, there would have to be some major changes. They weren't sure when they would appear, Gloria's vision didn't give a specific time frame, but she said he was looking closer to the version she saw in the future, so it seemed very soon.

Her visions of him were getting more and more frequent, so Ace hoped that meant his destiny was approaching soon. His powers would appear and he would rise to the top. All of the struggles he'd been forced to face because he wasn't like his brother or sisters. He wouldn't have changed it though. Ace had to work harder to be seen on a similar level as his siblings all his life and that's made him strong and resourceful. That's what would put him above the others.

They were skilled, but they'd been practically born with powers. They didn't understand what it was like to be without them. Ace would have walked on both sides, of power and powerlessness. That's what would make all the difference with him. That's what would make him great like the first generation of heroes. Because they remembered what it was like to be human once.

His parents had filled out the form to pull him from school on hand for the day his powers would manifest. The fridge, the second fridge, the backup fridge, and the minifridge were always stocked with food in preparation for the house to jump from one speedster to two. And the rest of the kids were still growing as well.

It was only a matter of time now. Ace would get his powers, and he'd get on the streets just like the rest of them. He'd make his parents proud of him.

Ever since that day, he'd tried to get his powers to show themselves. Meditating, running until he dropped. He'd heard stories about how Aunt Jesse had gotten her powers after almost being run over by a car. No way was he going to try that… again.

But then the day came. It didn't start the greatest, but it eventually turned into the best. That single moment was the greatest of his life. He'd accomplished everything he ever wanted in life. Ace had done it. He had powers. He'd proven the naysayers wrong. He was special. Now he could do everything his parents had told him about. It was time.

When the rest of his family came, they were shocked. They didn't know what to say. He just looked at them with the happiest expression on his face as he displayed his vibrating fist to them. Ace could feel the power buzzing within him. His newfound speed greeted him like an old friend. He never thought it would feel this good.

Ace wanted to move, he wanted to run. He was like a kid hopped up on sugar. He couldn't stay in one place for long. Not anymore. The power within him yearned to be used. His world would never be the same again.

With his new powers, Ace ran out of the house. He ran all the way to STAR Labs where Uncle Cisco kept his suit. Placing it in a duffle bag, Ace took off once again. Down the street in a straight path, he remembered what they all said to him. The thought of traveling through time. He had no idea what he would do once he got there, he just knew he had to go back. It's what he had to do.

It wasn't at all what Ace thought it would be like. Faster than he was expecting, but it worked nonetheless. Once night was day. Now he just needed to make sure he landed at the right time. And he knew just the way to do it.

Running all the way to Pop-pop Joe's place, he knocked on the door, waiting for someone to answer.

The door opened and there was Pop-pop Joe. Younger than Ace last saw him, but it was him no doubt. "Hey, am I late? I'm not late am I? Mom and Dad told me to come here, but I wasn't sure if I got it right."

The backstory of Ace that I had created that will get you started on season 5. If you can read between the lines, there's an important part in this that will play a big role in season 5. If not, all will be explained eventually.

Hope I didn't make you all wait too long. It was a combination of life getting in the way and me just not completely understanding where I was going with this. Going in, I was confident about what I wanted, but as I got further along, I just got flat out confused about what I was writing. And as the author, that's never a good thing. I had to go back, read what I'd already written and change things again and again to fit better. This season has gone through multiple rewrites, both on paper and in my head, but I feel that I've finally gotten a solid story.

So I will see you all next week on February 25 2022 for the first official chapter of season 5. To season 5!